Region: Middle Rio Grande
Coordination Goal: Facilitate the expansion of transportation services to meet the needs of more clients.
Coordination Strategies:
- Consider introducing once or twice-weekly van service linking outlying communities with Midland/Odessa/El Paso. (For communities not served by either AAA or Greyhound.)
- Resolve the TRAX driver recuritment and retention problem (likely attributable to a combination of the low overall wage structure and non-traditional work schedules).
- Develop formal agreements governing passenger travel between outlying communities and Midland, Odessa, and El Paso.
- Encourage rural communities to provide sidewalks and other bicycle/pedestrian facilities and infrastructure to facilitate mobility for those who utilize non-motorized transportation within their home community.
- Investigate opportunities for possible Transportation Network Companies (TNC) partnerships (especially in Ector and Midland counties) as a means of enhancing evenign and weekend mobility.
- Offer ADA paratransit service between Midland and Odessa. (May need to make a transfer at the EZ-Rider office to keep vehicles in their regular travel zones, but would still provide curb-to-curb service for ADA.) This would also facilitate paratransit service to the VA Clinic in Odessa.
- Implement improvements to the EZ-Rider system identified with its Comprehensive Operation Analaysis to enhance access to transit service in Midland and Odessa through extended service hours and Mobility on Demand areas.
- The City of Andrews should consider introduction of a local demand-response service.
Region:
Coordination Goal: Expand service hours to provide service during weekday evenings and weekends.
Coordination Strategies:
- Test expansion through feasbility study
Coordination Goal: Implement a regional veteran transportation program.
Coordination Strategies:
- Fare free public transportation for veterans
- Volunteer driver program for veterans
Region:
Coordination Goal: Encourage the implementation of general public transportation circulator or express routes from low population counties to higher population counties.
Coordination Strategies:
- Work with BTD on identifying funds to implement the shuttles.
- Work with the cities and counties on marketing shuttle and creating demand.
Region: West Central Texas
Coordination Goal: Increase the percentage of residents in the region with access to public transportation services
Coordination Strategies:
- Develop innovative means to fund alternate mobility solutions such as microtransit - considering alternate funding sources and public private partnerships
- Increase awareness among officials and public of need for increased transit and human transportation services in Gulf Coast region
- Seek to initiate new fixed route transit services or expand in areas where it is identified as needed
- Seek to start demand response service in area where it is identified as needed
- Endeavor to enhance regional coordination for transit and human service transportation where possible
- Meet gaps with appropriate or innovative human and social transportation services in areas where service by adequate transit is difficult or not feasible
- Identify additional means of funding transit, human and social service transportation services
Region: Golden Crescent
Coordination Goal: Expand public transportation service throughout the region.
Coordination Strategies:
- Explore the possibility of expanding the transit service operation hours by initiating a survey to transportation patrons to get feedback on the need for expanded weekday and weekend services.
- Review existing transit routes within Beaumont and Port Arthur to identify potential changes to accommodate priority population groups.